Badges of Honor

Dog Survives Separation, Wife Certified Genius

(PIERRE, SD) – A Pierre couple received a pleasant surprise when they returned home from a weekend camping trip – a clean kitchen, courtesy of their nine-month-old Lab puppy.

The pup, named Owen, spent 15 hours barricaded in the kitchen of his owners’ Polk Street home without supervision. Jeremy and Kelly Thompson decided to leave the animal inside when exterior temperatures hovered around 105 over the weekend. Because the pup had never been left in the house alone for an extended period of time before, Mrs. Thompson took elaborate steps to minimize any potential damage.

“It was pretty simple really. I removed anything breakable within his reach, barricaded the door, blocked things off with furniture. And I made sure he had the things he needed most – his blankie, his chewie and his food,” she said. “Any woman could have come up with an idea that brilliant.”

A potential escape was not their only concern. The couple has been working on getting Owen to use a regular potty schedule, taking him outside every few hours to do his “business”. So did 15 consecutive hours without a break leave them with some new patterns on their kitchen floor?

“Not a drop or a pile anywhere,” declared Mr. Thompson. “But when we got home and took him outside, that first pee took five minutes, easy.”

When asked if his wife’s preparation was key to the dog’s success, Mr. Thompson grudgingly admitted, “Yeah, she did all right.”

Now that Owen has survived his first overnighter on his own, will it become a regular practice at the Thompson home?

“I don’t think we’re at that point yet. We’ll try him at home alone for short periods a few more times, see how it goes. But you’re sure a smart puppy, aren’t you, Owen? Yes you are…you’re poppa’s good puppy, aren’t you? You betcha,” Mr. Thompson replied, scratching the Lab’s ears.

The Thompsons are also parents to another dog, three-year-old Indie, a Black Lab/Brittany Spaniel mix. Unnamed sources report Indie’s comment on Owen’s success as “Friggin’ kiss-ass.”

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I had a giant four month old choc. lab who broke out of his wire kennel while we were at work and he proceeded to tear the place up. He clawed to pieces all the shades in the living room, knocked over his 50 pound bag of food and left it everywhere, chewed up all the couch pillows, left large piles everywhere, chewed up the corners of the kitchen cabinets. Fortunately, the back bedroom doors were all shut and he didn’t mess up any carpeting…you were lucky, Kelly!

Owen is the sixth dog who’s been a part of the Thompson pack. And yep, we were lucky, Rita! I’ve got plenty of stories of times when we weren’t. My favorite Thompson dog story is about Catfish, a Black Lab who broke out of the house while we were gone by jumping out the window and then tried to jump back in the same window and got stuck halfway in, with his butt hanging outside. That Fish was quite a dog!